Loren's Sister
by Korean Pearl
Summary: The story of Becky Coles, Loren's youngest sister, who loses her children, her freedom, her love, and her life during the final stages of the Animorph War.


Disclaimer: Do I even have to do these anymore? I'm not sure of how things work in fanfiction anymore, I feel like I'm coming back from the dead to update here. For what it's worth, I don't own the concept of Yeerks, or any of the characters in the Animorphs series.

**LOREN'S SISTER**

"Ethan, what do you want?"

The man standing before her reached for her hand, but she yanked it away. "Ethan, tell me what you want. You asked me to come meet you here. So, what is it?"

Ethan gestured at the building behind them. "Becky, I asked you to meet me here because there is a bar right here. So let's go in and have a drink."

Becky shook her head. "I only came here because you're going to be my brother-in-law in about a week, and I want you and Timothy to be reconciled. But if you keep pushing me, I'm going to leave."

Ethan's eyes flared, and then he grabbed for Becky's hand again, this time moving too quickly for her to step out of his reach. Her eyes widened in fear as she tried to pull away, but the man's grip was too strong.

"Becky, if I have to drag you in, I will," Ethan started, but Becky interrupted. "Ethan! What is wrong with you?! Let me go!"

Timothy had told her that his younger half brother had always been a little out of it, but she hadn't thought him the type to use violence. Though to be fair, she didn't know much at all about the brothers' relationship, only that it was a very bad one.

It wasn't until Ethan actually began dragging her into the bar did it occur to her how bad of a relationship it was.

"Ethan, let go of me," she said through gritted teeth, determined not to scream until it was necessary. He _was _her fiancée's brother and she didn't want to embarrass him unnecessarily.

But when Ethan ignored her, and continued pulling her in, Becky began shouting, more in frustration than fear (after all, Ethan couldn't _really _hurt her, they were still practically in the suburbs), in hopes that Ethan would be shamed into letting her go.

"Shout all you want, Becky," Ethan said quietly, just loud enough for her to hear. "But you're coming with me."

Enough was enough. Ethan had managed to pull her into the doorway of the bar, and she shouted loudly at a passerby further down on the sidewalk, "Help me! He's hurting me!"

Thank goodness – the bystander was running in to help her. Becky let out a sigh of relief, but with her guard let down Ethan was able to yank her into the bar, and shove her against the wall.

This was bad.

"Becky, you will not marry my brother," Ethan said slowly. Becky ignored him and tried to squirm out of his grasp, but he grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her again into the wall.

"Why?" Becky finally gasped out, her breathing getting faster and faster. Was the person from the sidewalk coming to help her or not?

"You will not bring him happiness."

What in the world was Ethan talking about? Becky had no idea, and in fact, she couldn't have cared less. All she wanted to do was leave the situation behind her, as she knew for a fact that she would certainly not be extending brother-in-law privileges to this man again.

Ethan shook his head. "Becky, if you don't listen to what I'm saying now, you're going to regret it later."

Over Ethan's shoulder Becky could see a middle-aged man race into the bar, his heavy breathing and searching eyes telling her that he was the bystander she had called to. She waved to him frantically, and called out, "Here!" when Ethan grabbed her by the throat.

"Becky, I warned you."

Becky closed her eyes, and then lashed out with her now free right hand. She connected with Ethan's face but the hand around her throat only tightened.

"Alright, Becky, you asked for this."

Asked for _what_? Becky wanted to scream. She lashed out again, and missed, but she heard a dull thud and suddenly she could breathe again. Becky bent over and gasped, sucking in air greedily, and then looked up to see her rescuer down on the ground, Ethan towering over him.

"No, don't," she said weakly, but it was too late. Ethan's curled fists pounded into the man, over and over again. Becky reached up to stop him, but was hurled back against the wall.

"Hold her," Ethan ordered someone next to him, and the man stepped in front of Becky, blocking her view of Ethan's merciless beating. Still stunned, she tried to push up against him but the man pushed her backwards, back into the wall, pinning her in place until Ethan's voice called out, "Throw them both out."

Becky could feel hands lifting her, shoving her out onto the sidewalk. She was pushed roughly into a bystander standing there, and then she turned to see a body in the doorway of the bar, her rescuer, beaten and covered in blood, unconscious.

"Oh, no, please," she whispered, bending over the man, trying to see if he was breathing. Her head still light, she pulled out her cell phone to call the police, but a hand whipped it away. She looked up to see Ethan, her phone in his hand.

"Don't marry my brother, Becky."

Furious, Becky lunged at him, and grabbed at her phone, but he held it out of her reach. Standing, she spat at Ethan, "I will marry him, and I will bring happiness to his life, no matter how much you may protest, you _monster_."

"Your choice, Becky."

Ethan turned and went back inside the bar, and Becky knelt down and bent over the man again, the tears starting to come. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "Thank you for coming to save me."

"Here, I'll call 911," the person she had bowled over said. Becky numbly nodded her thanks, and reached out to hold the man's hand, waiting until the police came.

--

"Hey, Becks… you're not inviting any of your family to the wedding?"

Becky shook her head, massaging her throat. It had been a week since the bar incident, and her stupid throat still hurt. "No, my family is pretty messed up. Us Coles weren't that awesome at sticking together. One sister is the stingiest woman ever, and she's all the way on the other side of the coast anyway, my brother is a good-for-nothing drunk, my other sister is suffering from amnesia but used to think her husband was an alien, father left us, mother dead…"

Timothy laughed softly. "Yeah, my family is the same. Only family left is my brother, and I'm sure as hell not inviting him."

Becky tried to smile, but the tears began dripping down again. The man who had rescued her had died there on the sidewalk, and she didn't even know his name.

"I'm sorry, Becky," Timothy said sincerely. He reached out a hand. "But don't be sad. He did the right thing, and I'm grateful to him. And I'm even gladder that you're not going near my half brother again."

Becky swallowed. "I didn't know he was that crazy… I would have never… I'm sorry, Timothy…"

They held each other for a moment, sharing comfort and assurance through their bodies.

"We'll do better," Timothy promised. "We'll be there for our kids."

Becky nodded. Yes. They would do better. Their kids would know what love was, and what more, they would know what it was like to have two parents who loved each other be there for them.

--

"Tobias," Becky crooned to her toddler. "C'mon, Tobias, come to Mommy…"

She smiled as her son took one step, and then another, and then laughed as he bounced into her arms. She held him up, and brought him to her husband. "Say hi to Papa, now."

Timothy smiled, and Becky commented, "He looks so much like you. From skin color to nose to eyes, he's really a chip off the old block."

"Nah, he's lighter skinned than me," Timothy pointed out. "Although that makes sense since he's a quarter black while I'm half."

"Yes, but he still takes after you more than me," Becky countered. "Loren, on the other hand, is much lighter and looks a lot like my sister actually, now that I think of it."

Becky looked at her second child, a daughter just a year younger than Tobias.

"Just out of curiosity," Timothy asked suddenly. "Where did you get the name Tobias? I know you wanted it pretty badly, but I don't think I ever asked whether it had any significance."

Becky was quiet for a moment, and then sighed. "Well, I guess it was more a childish thing, really… see, my sister Loren and I were pretty close when we were younger. The only normal ones out of our entire family. A few years ago I heard that she was in this car accident, but when I tried to find her, she had just disappeared. I still don't know where she is now. I've been searching for her, but I really have no idea. We were close though, and we agreed when we were kids that between the two of us, we would name our first son Tobias. I don't even remember why, we just liked the name."

Becky paused, and Timothy smiled. "That's a good enough reason for a name. It's better than mine, at any rate. I wanted to name him Timothy after me. But it works as his middle name. Tobias Timothy Tem. Nice alliteration there, don't you think?"

Becky grinned. "And this is Loren Rebecca Tem. I think both their names suit them very well."

"Oh, man, Becky, I'm late to work, I gotta run," Timothy broke in suddenly, reaching over for his bag. "Today is a special meeting – you know the organization called The Sharing that I joined a few months ago? We're meeting about taking some community initiative in our own districts. You should really come to one of our meetings, Becky; I think you would really appreciate the work we're doing."

"I know, and I keep intending to," Becky responded. "It's just that I never actually have the time to. I promise I'll come to a meeting soon though. But today I can't – I'm going to take the kids to daycare pretty soon as well, and then go to work, so if you take the car I'll walk the kids down and then take the subway."

"You sure?" asked Timothy, his brow wrinkling with concern. "I can walk if you like."

Becky smiled. "Thanks for the offer, sweetheart, but the police station is about half an hour's drive from here, and the daycare is just down the road, right before the subway station. I think I'll manage."

"True," Timothy admitted before grabbing an umbrella. "Alright, I'll be back soon."

Becky kissed her husband goodbye, and then busied herself getting the children ready. She put Tobias into the stroller first, and then Loren in front of him, before pushing them out of their small house in the city.

"There are a lot of people out here," she commented to her children, who didn't respond. "I wonder what's going on."

After dropping her children off at the daycare, she strode forward, hoping that she hadn't missed her usual ride when she noticed armed police officers herding people into the subway. What was going on? Was there something dangerous they needed to escape from?

"Everyone into the subway, now!" barked the nearest officer. "Don't ask questions, just go."

Becky tried to surreptitiously pull away from the crowd to return to her children, but the officer noticed and snapped at her to get back. Curious as to what was going on, and just a little bit worried, she allowed herself to go with the crowd down into the subway station where there were more armed guards ordering people into the subways.

She reached for her cell phone to call Timothy when she noticed a man standing in the middle of the crowd, not moving. Their eyes met, and the shock of recognition went through her.

It was Ethan.

Ethan winked at her. "I told you not to marry him, Becky. I said you would regret it if you did. Now, let's see… your kids are at daycare right outside, huh?"

Becky stared numbly for a moment, and then shook her head, whispering, "No, no…" She fought against the momentum of the crowd, but one of the guards yanked on her arm, pulling her with the mass of people into the subway train.

"Get in, you stupid human," the guard hissed, and panicking, Becky flailed out at him but the crush of people around her forced her forwards and try as she might, she couldn't get out of the crowd.

"No," she whispered again, and then she said it a little more loudly. "No, let me out, let me through!"

She could see Ethan's smirk and she begin fighting in earnest, trying to keep away from the open doors of the train, but the guard grabbed her, pinning her arms and bodily heaving her into the train. More people crowded in around her, pushing her back, and then the doors closed.

"No!" she screamed, writhing, trying to get free. The people around her looked at her as if she were crazy. "The dude has a gun, will you be quiet?" she heard someone mutter, but she didn't care. Her children – Ethan would get her children, no!

She had to stay calm. She would just have to get off at the nearest stop.

But to Becky's surprise, the train kept going, and didn't stop at any of the stations. Her panic rising up again, she turned to ask the security guard what was going on, but he only answered her with a sneer.

"Let me off!" she finally shouted at him, but the guard lifted his gun and casually pointed it at her, causing her to blanch.

"Be quiet, human," he said quietly. "It'll be all over soon."

They passed a few more stops, and gun or not, Becky knew she had to act. She pulled out her phone once more to call Timothy, but she had no service, and desperately she looked around for a way to escape.

There was nothing.

Wait – was the train halting? It was! Joyfully Becky pushed forward to the front of the crowd, and then when the door opened she ran out. Confused when her feet hit solid rock and dirt instead of smooth concrete, she looked up.

"Okay, everyone get out, this is our final destination!" the guard called out. The people behind her swarmed forward, but stopped where Becky was, all of them taking in the seven foot tall monsters, the armed guards, the massive sludgy pool, the cages, the screams…

Where _was_ this place?

Then, she saw Timothy.

"Timothy!" she called out, and then she ran, heedless of the danger. She fell into his arms, and then grabbed him, saying, "We have to leave, Ethan knows where the kids are, c'mon!"

She tugged at him, but strangely, he wasn't moving. Becky looked up into her husband's face to see a strange smile on it.

"Don't worry about the kids," her husband said in a sweet voice, one that he would never use to say anything but good. "They're worthless bodies. But you, on the other hand… you're twenty-six, Timothy tells me. In prime health. Soon enough though, that won't matter. You can be perfectly healthy, and still be dead."

"Timothy, what is going on," Becky started, the terror of the day starting to seep into her voice, when Timothy grabbed her, and forced her forward, straight towards the pool in the middle of the cavern they were in.

Timothy would never handled her so roughly, that Becky knew for sure. So she hardly knew how to respond when her husband dragged her forward and pushed her face first into the sludge, keeping her there until she could barely breathe, keeping her head submerged until a slimy something began burrowing through her ear…

When Timothy finally let her up, she tried to gasp, but couldn't breathe. She tried again, but something was stopping her.

(Hello, Becky,) a voice said in her head. (Aw, isn't that sweet – your own husband infested you.)

The dread that had built into terror was now turning into horror. _What was going on?_

(Well, to begin, everything before you is the part of a grand alien invasion. That's right, all your science fiction books were at least somewhat accurate. We are here to take over your brains. But what does he mean… you can be perfectly healthy, but still be dead?)

Before Becky had a chance to respond, her body stood up, without her prompting it. Her head moved and faced her husband, and then her mouth said, "Thank you, Gahen 98453, but I don't quite understand - "

"Oh, don't thank me." her husband cut in. "I didn't pick you or do this for you. I had her infested for - "

His words were cut off by a loud explosion and a blinding light, and Becky was thrown to the ground. Her head spinning, she tried to get up but her body wasn't responding. Starting to panic, but not being able to do anything about it, her arms lifted her body without her prompting them and then her head spun around to see a large subway train, right in the middle of the pool.

There were screams around her, but her eyes remained focused on the young girl standing on top of the wrecked train, who was shouting something that Becky couldn't hear at first, but then as the people around her slowly quieted, she made out the shouted words, "There are ten one-thousand-pound bombs on this train! They're going to go off in four minutes from now. Anyone still here in four minutes is dead."

Becky's legs instantly turned to flee, but they tripped, and then she was yanked up by two hands. Her head turned to see who it was, and then gaped at the sight of her husband, who was reaching for her with hard hands, his face a mask that twisted into a cruel smile.

"He asks for your forgiveness," her husband smirked, and then suddenly she was shoved backwards into the dirty pool, the liquid immersing her as she cried out in her mind, Timothy! Timothy, I love you, I love you!

Her body struggled to get up; the Yeerk cursing in her mind, and when they finally surfaced, her husband was nowhere to be seen, and by the time she had made it out of the pool, it was too late. The explosion hit them right before they made it to an exit, and Becky's last living thought was that Ethan had her children.

**Author's Note**

A kind of depressing fic, but it's one that sets up the rest of this series, so it was necessary. I also wanted to work with the idea of the innocents and bystanders who died almost randomly when the Animorphs and the Yeerks began a full scale, all-out war. That's the part of war that makes me hate war the most, and so I wanted to flesh it out here.

Coming up next: Toomin's Last Game, which will be about Becky's children, among other things.


End file.
